Final Project: WPST

Over the last 10 weeks, our group has been studying the radio station, WPST (94.5). WPST, coined as "#1 for Variety Music," is stationed nearby in Princeton and is owned by Nassau Broadcasting Partners. After close evaluation and observation of WPST along with an interview conducted with one of their interns and surveys with college students, we have learned a lot of things about the station. In our paper, we have gathered the history of WPST and Nassau Broadcasting Partners, clearly defined Nassau Broadcasting's mission statement (since WPST doesn't have one), devised a summary of WPST's PR plan and what we would contribute to it. We would contribute a list of recommendations/tactics that we would use to improve WPST and would benefit their company greatly. The three recommendations that we have devised for WPST include updating and maintaining their social media networks (Facebook, Twitter and mobile access) more effectively, appealing to a larger demographic and advertising their events more effectively and our strong suggestion of WPST obtaining a PR team.

Final Paper
Bibliography

Power Point Presentation


Appendix i: WPST Website
Appendix ii: WPST Twitter
Appendix iii: WPST Facebook
Appendix iv: PR Group 4 Twitter
Appendix v: Press Release
Appendix vi: Event Details


In Class Survey:

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION


SOCIAL MEDIA AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT

WPST Tour (Week 9) November 27, 2009

Over the break, our group took a trip to the WPST studio in Princeton. The studio is located in the Sovereign Bank Building. We learned many things about the studio, including where they make and produce the commercials, the Promotion Department and where they film the Live Lounge (which is mentioned in previous posts).



First, we saw the Sales Department. This took up a huge section of the studio and it was just for people who worked in the department. These people help set up different events, such as their freedom festival. The Sales Department creates different events than the events created by the Promotion Department. The Sales Department organizes the big events while promotions set up the little, weekly events

After the Sales Department, we were led to the offices where the company takes care of all of the commercials. This group of people are responsible for recording the commercials. However, if they’re not recording commercials, they find other people, even interns, to record them. Within these offices, they also edit the commercials and send them to the network in order for them to be put on the air. As well as broadcasting and editing the commercials, they also talk to many organizations and companies to get them to promote themselves, via commercials, to be aired on PST.

We also got a chance to check out Dave McKay and Matt Sneed's offices. Dave McKay works with all types of artists to get them to come to WPST to perform in their Live Lounge in order to help promote themselves.(We have mentioned and discusses the Live Lounge in previous posts) Dave McKay's office is filled with signed photographs of many famous artists, that he has collected over the years working with WPST. Matt Sneed, along with being a DJ at WPST, also is WPST’s Music Director. This means that Matt chooses the playlist for WPST every day. Matt's office is filled with CD's of different genres of music; this shows that Matt is dedicated to choosing a variety of different music for WPST's listeners every day.

Next on our tour was the Promotions Office. This office is where promotions sits and researches different promotions that WPST can take part in. In addition, they call many different organizations where they would like WPST to visit in order to promote the station. We had the opportunity to meet Tony Henry who is the Promotions Director for WPST. He is in contact with different organizations everyday and sets up different events such as the Parking Lot Pig-Out that takes place every other Wednesday. With every event that Tony schedules for WPST, he writes it down on a calender they have posted on the wall so the rest of the PST crew can see the different events for the month and determine whether or not they would like to attend them.

Within the station, we were able to tour the three main studios. The first two studios is where WPST's DJs air their radio shows. The third studio isn't used as much because that is where Nassau Broadcasting airs one of their religious stations. In addition to the three main studios, they also have four smaller ones across the hall. These four studios are where all of the commercials are recorded. DJs can go in these small, sound proof studios and record any type of commercial they need. WPST employees as well as interns also have the opportunity to use these studios to record.

Finally, we also visited the WPST Live Lounge which consist of a lounge inside their studio where artist come and perform. It also the place where the fans come and meet their favorite artists.The Live Lounge is decorated with pictures autographed by each artist who have visited WPST Live Lounge. The artists come in and perform exclusive performances that are more intimate affairs than other larger shows that they perform. The crew and interns can also watch these live performances with some well known artists sometimes.


Watch live video from 94.5 PST/WPST Studio Cam on Justin.tv

WPST Evaluation (Week 8) November 30, 2009

For this week's blog post, our group focused on WPST's PR plan. We followed WPST and how they run their business as well as any problems we see within the radio station. We also evaluated their company through a variety of different media functions and how they interacted with fans and listeners.

After talking to a former Intern at WPST, a growing problem seems to be their communication: one of the major factors in running a business. Although WPST's website is very interactive and great for social media, the communication is still a little off and lacks some things. DJ's can be contacted on their blogs with questions regarding them, and you can also call WPST directly. But, in today's day and age, email is a huge factor for communication. During this interview, email came up a lot as well as how they manage their emails. Some feel as though their communication can be a lot better. Over the next few weeks we will be conducting an interview with WPST and hopefully we can help them solve part of this problem.

Another concern of WPST's PR plan is the demographic they target. WPST is mostly focused on the "tween" (ages 10-15, and adults ages 30+). They are missing out on a great target audience, which are the older teenagers and college students (ages 16-25). WPST does many great things to promote themselves to the audiences they want, such as concert events that feature artists that young teenagers listen to and lunches and cookouts for local businesses. However, they could do much more to try to get college-aged listeners. They could come to different college events, such as our Cranberry Fest or even sponsor our fall and spring concerts. WPST would really benefit by opening up their target audience and going out of their way to get more listeners from different age groups.

During the entire Fall '09 semester, we have been following WPST on Twitter. The first thing we noticed was how easy WPST is to search and how accessible they are for their fans. They usually tweet every three hours. Tweeting often is a good public relations tool, because it makes WPST a fun and informative radio station to follow. We also following other radio stations such as,WAYV 95.1 and Q102. Both radio stations do not tweet daily, and sometimes it takes them a week for them to tweet. Not updating your Twitter often creates lack of communication among them and their fans and also a bad public relations. Although WPST is doing a great job on managing their Twitter account, we did not see any interest from the radio station on following their fans. They are only following 41 twitter profiles and the majority of people who are they following are celebrities. We have been trying to get WPST to follow our Twitter page since the page was set up and we would suggest that they follow us in order to let them know about our opinions and our project.

We did not only follow WPST on Twitter, but we also became fans of their Facebook profile. Their statuses are also updated every four hours. The DJ's often share links and also pictures with their fans. This is a good public relations strategy because they give their fans an opportunity to know about the radio station events and crew through this popular social website that everybody logs in often. Their Facebook profile is filled with useful information about their events and other links to their other social websites profile such as, Youtube, Twitter, Blog, and their main website. As a fan we can also comment on their links and statuses.

As we've been studying WPST inside and out, through following their Twitter, Facebook, website and conducting a helpful interview, with hopes in acquiring a larger one. We've learned a lot about how their radio station works and functions. They do a good job at updating both their Facebook and Twitter, two exceptional PR tools of this age, but there are still a few suggestions we could make to improve their connections with the outside world a.k.a. their current listeners and general public that they wish to attract. By observing and evaluating WPST, we've devised a great list of questions that we plan to ask the DJ, whichever one we obtain when we acquire the interview, to ask the station (improvements, suggestions and such) that they will hopefully take into account. With our hopes and intentions, this will widen their event schedule, branching out to new genres of people (college students and older adults, etc.), increase their demographic to other ages, and overall, make WPST a more appealing radio station that people of all ages will be attracted to.

Social Media (Week 7) November 13, 2009

Social media is a very important way for WPST to reach their fans. It is also a way for the station to acquire listeners from around the world. They are able to receive instant feedback from their listeners and use this on the air. They use their website, DJ blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Take a look below at some information about their social media!

Web 2.0
WPST's website is a complete interactive website. Not only is there sections for e-news and weather, but there are interactive sections for WPST listeners such as chat, web cam, the loyal listeners club and PST mobile. The website is focused on having music for their listeners. There is a live lounge, an on-demand audio and numerous videos available to watch. The website is considered a 2.0 website since it is not only information but graphics, videos and audio.

Watch live video from 94.5 PST/WPST Studio Cam on Justin.tv

Blogs
WPST's website also allow their listeners to follow their favorite DJ's Blog entries in which they describe events or comments about any topic.They also post and share pictures related to their topic discussed in their blogs in order to make it more creative and less boring. DJ's Blogs can be found WPST's website inside each DJ's page. Every reader have the option of expressing their reactions by clicking on the three given options of:funny,interesting or cool. They can also simply post their comments, and by doing this the DJ have the chance to interact back and forth with his or her listeners.

Twitter
Twitter is a great public relations tool for WPST. The station has the ability to sign onto their Twitter account, updating their statuses throughout the day for all of their fans. For example, on November 13th they signed on to let people know that they would be giving away free passes to PST's midnight showing of "New Moon" and the different things that they would be talking about that day encouraging people to call in at certain times to give their opinions. In addition, the DJs have the opportunity to sign onto the Twitter account everyday while they're on the air. On this particular day, for example, Newman signed on and asked for people's opinions on which honking style is correct with a link to his blog where he described different types of honks. They also update their Twitter account everyday at 4:00pm to give their fans the PST Mobile EBuzz which is a text they send about the entertainment buzz of that day.

Facebook
WPST uses and maintains their own Facebook account with fans and friends who write and post to their main wall. Just as they do with their Twitter account, WPST updates their Facebook status at around 4pm everyday with PST mobile ebuzz. Radio station DJ Matt Sneed has his account linked in with other Facebook users and he also spreads the word to fellow Facebook friends. Keeping this sort of interaction with fans lets WPST remain loyal to its listeners and the relationship is strengthened. More people around the area will listen in and look for Facebook messages from different DJ's and will feel a connection with each one of them.

Youtube
WPST has their own Youtube channel. They have over 90 uploads including interviews, live performances and DJ made videos. Yotube channels allow for fans to subscribe and comment on different things that the station is doing on the channel. It is a great way to "put a face" to the DJ's and the different things the station is doing or promoting. We encourage everyone to check this tool out, it is very interesting and very diffrent.

So in conclusion, social media plays a major role within WPST. Social Media is their way to reach thier fans and to get their name out their. WPST uses almost all of the social media tools that are used today around the nation, the major ones at least. This seperates them from the rest, because not all radio stations have these tools just yet. WPST is on top of thier game, and is doing their best to promote thier company and reach all of their listeners!

Crisis Management: Martha Stewart

Our Class Presentaion:


Bibliography
Class Handout
Martha Stewarts Personal Blog

Martha Stewarts Recipe For Crisis Management

On December 27, 2003, Martha Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone Stock. The next day, the stock dropped around 18%, saving Stewart around $46,000. It was later learned that ImClone founder, Sam Waksal, had tipped off Stewart. Stewart kept her innocence even after she was indicted of nine federal counts. In July of 2004, Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and an additional five months of house arrest. She was also required to pay a $30,000 fine. This all looks very bad in a PR aspect. How could "the perfect stay-at-home mom" be involved with insider trading and be going to prison? Stewart's team now needed to come up with a plan and a way to bring her audience back.

After Martha Stewart was convicted and sentenced to five months in prison and soon after she was forced to another five months of house arrest, she was faced with many objectives in order to get her life back on track. Although it was tough for Martha and she faced many challenges, she stayed strong and worked hard in order to accomplish these objectives. At one point, Martha even stated to fans, “I will be back,” (Martha Comes Clean) to show her true determination. Amongst her many objectives after being released from prison, Martha had to be willing to work hard to win her fans back. She also needed to work hard to jump start the Martha Stewart Organization and make changes to redirect the organization in the right direction. In order to take part in this redirection, Martha needed to expand products, and even re-brand and repackage them. In addition, Martha needed to put forth much effort to get back into the public eye through TV shows, books, press conferences, and much more.

The real question to Stewart’s regrouping after her arrest was whether she could return to her throne as homemaking queen. With Stewart's public image tainted, she would have to strategically attempt to make her way back into the public’s eye, and make sure that they were willing to trust and accept her again. Stewart's own home-cooking show had been taken off the air and new episodes were no longer airing, so a strategic move would be to film new episodes and have new special guests appear in order to have people start viewing again. With sales dropping and the Martha Stewart Living Organization’s image in doubt, the company would also have to come up with strategies in order to jump start their organization. With Stewart as the CEO, they would likely have to start by demoting her or firing her from her position as head of the company, if they were to redirect their company in the right direction. Another strategy that the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) company would need is the expansion of the products into other retail outlets in order to get the brand name out in more places. The company would also need to re-brand their image again to make sure people would not hesitate to purchase one of Stewart’s products because of Stewart’s legal woes. Not only could the company re-brand and repackage their products in new and efficient ways, but they would also have to find ways to separate themselves a bit from Stewart’s name to compel the public to realize that Stewart’s legal troubles were separate from the operations of the company. This would help the companies image and ultimately sales, despite people thinking that Stewart was a convict. Gaining the trust back from the consumers and viewers would allow Stewart and her company to run efficiently and smoothly.

Overall, Martha Stewart had her company respect at all times for building a business empire. According to The Wall Street Journal, consumers don't care about Stewart's personal moral decisions because they still rely on her expertise. MSLO created a supportive relationship with Martha Stewart during her trial. They knew that they were not going to survive without her expertise, knowledge and image. Although, Chief Executive Susan Lyne helped stabilize the company during the legal travails of the company's founder, having a specialized and wise executive chief was crucial for the company to survive during Stewart's trial. MSLO executives had the opportunity to support their founder and also take care of business by not involving Stewart's legal aspects with the company daily business performance. They continued selling their products in K-Mart Stores and they also introduced them in stores such as Wal-Mart, Macy's, 1-800-Flower.com, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Michael Stores.

Before going to prison, Martha Stewart gave a press conference in New York. She persuaded people and advertisers to keep loyal to her products. By giving this press conference she clarified that her legal situation should not make a negative impact on her products sells. The five months sentence imposed by the courthouse allowed her to be released on time to film her show "The Apprentice." She also signed a major contract with Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast a show aimed for women lifestyle. The life experience gained at the prison inspired her to publish her book "Martha Rules".

Her position in MSLO changed. According to Kessler Robert in his news article "Stewart paying up in trading case", she continues working in to work in creative and other non financial areas.

Even though Stewart made an attempt and has still been making attempts to meet her objectives of winning back her audiences, many did not even find this effort necessary. There are a large number of fans who supported Stewart throughout her whole experience with prison. In fact, many traveled to greet her in West Virginia to welcome her home when she was released. According to an article entitled "Fans trek to prison to say goodbye to Stewart", one woman named Kathy Herrmann who was going through chemotherapy at the time, traveled across the country from Washington to see Martha when she was released from prison. “I’m tired but it meant enough for me to come out here anyway,” Herrmann said. “It’s all about support." Herrmann who had always been a fan of Stewart, did not allow Stewart’s distressing situation get in the way of her dedication to Stewart. Another woman by the name of Lisa Huff stated that she was never a fan of Martha; Huff actually became a fan of her after she was sentenced to her five months in prison. “When she went in, I thought she was mean. But when she decided to go to jail, now she looks more contrite. I think jail has been great for her,” Huff said.

Although there is no documented calendar for Stewart (Gannt chart or written evaluation), here is a compiled a list of both her corporate and personal losses throughout the years she experienced her troubles. In July 2002, not even a year after she was indicted on her federal charges, MSLO's third quarter earning were cut in half. In 2003, Stewart's publishing revenue for her magazine, "Martha Stewart Living," fell 26%. As a result, MSLO reduced the circulation of their magazine from 2.3 million people to 1.8 million. Shortly after this happened, MSLO's partnership with K-Mart, their largest partner and distributor of products, didn't want to be associated with Stewart. K-Mart filed a lawsuit against Stewart for being overcharged for their services. Because of this, MSLO's merchandising unit fell 16.6%. On June 4, the day Stewart was found guilty and charged, her New York damage control firm, Citigate Sard Verbinnen, launched a new website, marthatalks.com. From a PR perspective, this was the beginning and probably most crucial part of her crisis management. The website was one of the biggest steps Stewart took to reviving her image as the wholesome person she was originally perceived as. The website posted open letters from Stewart herself, along with fan mail, legal briefs and case updates. This was a way for Stewart to actually communicate with her fans and supporters and show that she could and would overcome the situation she was in. The first day the site was launched, it obtained 2 million hits. On her damage control firm's part, this was the perfect PR plan to recovering her image and career. In 2004, immediately after her verdict was announced, the shares of her company, MSLO fell 23%. In March, after Stewart stepped down as the Director, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of MSLO, she lost $95 million. As a result of this, the company devised a new plan to try and recover Stewart's company and image. They got rid of the "Martha Stewart Living" magazine and completely re-designed it and renamed the magazine to "Everyday Food." In September and October, Stewart made a personal choice, and "strictly business" decision; she requested to start her prison term early, against prosecutors desires to appeal. "I must reclaim my good life," she said to a federal judge. People felt as if they won since Stewart went to jail. They saw her as s humble and well-grounded person for making such a decision. In 2005, right before Stewart was released from prison, MSLO posted their yearly losses for the first time since the company was founded in 1998. Since the stability of a company is a public record, the company probably never sustained a loss. However, since the scandal, the public opinion probably caused their losses. However, in February, when NBC announced its new version of "The Apprentice," featuring Stewart as the host, her companies stocks hit the highest they had hit in 5 years. According to crisis management professionals, this was "a remarkable turnaround."

After being sentenced and put in jail many did not know where Stewart’s career was going to take her. Little did the world know that Stewart had plans to be right back on top where she left off. After being released from prison, it was all about the positives for Stewart. She wanted to retain her fan base and continue to be a model citizen for America. Stewart stayed away from the negative media and thrives to make the positives show. For example, stepping down from CEO of her company, going back on the air for her TV show and releasing a new book. All of these things brought Stewart publicity and that is exactly what she was looking for. She wanted to clear her public image and that is exactly what Stewart did. Today Martha Stewart is worth over $600 million dollars; yes, people will always remember her scandal but the world has moved forward.

In conclusion, Martha Stewart has gone through all 8 PR Elements and this is the reason why her public image and fan base is positive again. Stewart and her PR team set objectives and tactics and stuck by them all the way to the end. The 8 basic PR elements run in a full circle, if you complete each stage you will end up with your overall goal at the end. In the case of Martha Stewart, she accomplished all 8 stages of the PR elements and salvaged her public image. Through out her process, Stewart kept her fan base and we believe this is one of the major reasons why Stewart has salvaged her career. We do not believe you can salvage ones image any better than Stewart did. She followed the stages of the PR elements and got everything she deserves. Now America can move past the scandal and look at Martha Stewart with new eyes.








Timeline of Martha Stewart Scandal: By USA Today

A timeline of relevant events in the Martha Stewart stock trading scandal:

•Oct. 31, 2001: ImClone Systems asks the government to review Erbitux, its new cancer drug.

•Dec. 26, 2001: ImClone founder Sam Waksal is tipped that the government will deny the company's Erbitux application, then tips his daughter to sell her ImClone stock and tries to sell his own.

•Dec. 27, 2001: Stewart sells all 3,928 shares of ImClone stock she owns. The government later contends she was tipped that Waksal was trying to sell his shares.

•Dec. 28, 2001: The FDA makes its decision public. On Dec. 31, the first trading day after the news, ImClone drops 18%.

•Jan. 7, 2002: Stewart's broker, Peter Bacanovic, tells Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys that he and Stewart had agreed on Dec. 20, 2001, to sell ImClone if it fell below $60.

•Feb. 4, 2002: Stewart gives the SEC, federal prosecutors and the FBI the same information about the $60 stop-loss order.

•June 12, 2002: Waksal is arrested and charged with insider trading. Stewart issues a statement repeating her assertion that she had a $60 stop-loss order.

•June 18, 2002: Stewart insists she is "fully" cooperating with authorities.

•Oct. 2, 2002: Former Merrill Lynch & Co. assistant Douglas Faneuil pleads guilty to taking a payoff to keep quiet about the Stewart stock trade.

•Oct. 15, 2002: Waksal admits tipping his daughter to sell ImClone ahead of the government decision and trying to sell his own shares.

•June 4, 2003: Stewart and Bacanovic are indicted on nine federal counts in the ImClone scandal. Both plead innocent. Stewart resigns as chairwoman and CEO of her company but remains chief creative officer and a board member.

•June 5, 2003: Stewart unveils a personal Web site in which she proclaims her innocence and insists she will fight to clear her name.

•June 10, 2003: Waksal is sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

•Nov. 7, 2003: Stewart tells ABC News she is scared of prison but "I don't think I will be going to prison, though."

•Nov. 18, 2003: U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum refuses Stewart's request to toss out two of the five charges against her, including a securities fraud count.

•Jan. 6, 2004: Potential jurors fill out a questionnaire that reportedly asks whether they have visited Stewart's Web site or cooked with her recipes.

•Jan. 26: Jury of eight women and four men is selected.

•Jan. 27: Prosecutor claims in opening statements that Stewart sold ImClone stock based on a "secret tip," then lied to cover it up. Stewart's attorney compares case with the Big Brother novel "1984."

•Feb. 3-4: Faneuil testifies that Bacanovic ordered him to tell Stewart that Waksal was selling stock. Faneuil claims Bacanovic pressured him repeatedly to cover it up.

•Feb. 10: Stewart assistant Ann Armstrong testifies Stewart personally altered log of a message Bacanovic left on day she sold ImClone. But Armstrong says Stewart ordered the message changed back and never asked her to lie.

•Feb. 19: Expert testifies ink Bacanovic used on worksheet of Stewart's portfolio to make an "(at)60" notation next to ImClone is different from other inks on the document. Stewart friend Mariana Pasternak says Stewart told her days after ImClone sale that she knew about Waksal selling and says Stewart added: "Isn't it nice to have brokers who tell you those things?"

•Feb. 20: Under cross-examination, Pasternak backtracks on "Isn't it nice" remark, saying it could have been something she herself thought. Government rests its case.

•Feb. 23: Jeremiah Gutman, former Faneuil lawyer called as witness for Bacanovic, instead backs up Faneuil testimony. Defense ink expert says "(at)60" ink may match ink from a dash mark elsewhere on the worksheet. Heidi DeLuca, a Stewart business manager, says she has a memory of Bacanovic discussing plans to sell Stewart's ImClone shares at $60.

•Feb. 25: Stewart lawyers call just one witness — a lawyer whose notes raise question about what questions Stewart was asked in interviews with the government. Government plays tape of Bacanovic saying he never discussed $60 plan with DeLuca.

•Feb. 27: Judge throws out securities fraud count against Stewart. The charge accused her of deceiving investors in her own media company by claiming she sold ImClone because of the $60 agreement.

•March 3: Jury begins deliberations.

•March 5: Stewart convicted on all charges; Bacanovic convicted on all but one charge, making a false statement.

Managing Crisis Management:

Live Shows and Web Cams (Week 6) November 6, 2009

In order for WPST to promote themselves and different featured artists, WPST uses Live web cams and shows that they broadcast online. WPST calls their live shows The PST Live Lounge, which we will take a look at below. They also use a web cam in their studio, calling it the Live Studio Cam. These are just a few of the technology friendly features that WPST uses to draw in their fans and audiences.



The PST Live Lounge is a lounge located within the studio where artists come and perform live for their fans. They also sign autographs, take pictures and answer any questions that their fans may have. While this is all going on within the lounge, they also have a live web cam set up so that the fans that weren't able to come to the studio can watch the performance from their computer at home. While watching, they also have the opportunity to join a live chat room. At all times, there is a member of the PST crew talking to everyone in the chat room, and when the performance is over people from the chat room get the opportunity to ask the artist questions. When they post their questions in the chat room the artist answers all of the questions live.

The Live Lounge has featured artists such as The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, Good Charlotte and Metro Station. You can find all of the performances done in the lounge on the PST website. All shows are posted on their web page, which makes it a great tool to refer to and go back to as you please.

Another great feature that WPST offers is their Live Studio web cam. This feature allow fans to not only listen in on their favorite bands and singers, but also listen to live interviews and other events going on within the studio. This feature is free and can be found right on the WPST website. They also allow you to comment and chat with others that are watching the same web cast as you are. So as you are listening and watching you are able to interact with others that have the same interests as you. I encourage everyone to come and take a look at this feature. Here is an example of the Live Web Cam:

Watch live video from 94.5 PST/WPST Studio Cam on Justin.tv

The live shows, web cam and technology allow for listeners to get up close to their favorite artists and to their favorite radio station without even leaving their house. This is a great way for WPST to not only promote themselves but to promote different artists right off of their web page. A lot of these artists go on the live show when they are in town for a concert. This is a great way for the artists to promote themselves and hopefully sell tickets to their upcoming show. Having the web cam in the studio shows listeners the culture of WPST. They are doing their best to stay on top of technology and provide new ways to interact with their fans. It shows how fun the studio can be and how much fun the DJs and the guests can be. Having these features online also not only promote the station to people in our area but to people all over the world, since they are on their web site. If only WPST had international advertising to let people know that these features were there. Not everyone knows about these features, which is why we believe that they are not being used to the best ability they can be.

Nassau Broadcasting Partners, L.P. (Week 5) October 30, 2009

To take a break from the information only regarding 94.5, we will focus on Nassau Broadcasting Partners, L.P. this week. Nassau Broadcasting Partners owns WPST along with a handful of other radio stations along the East Coast. They currently operate stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maryland. Nassau is quoted to have signals currently covering approximately 8.1 million people across the East Coast. Not only do they operate all of these companies across the coast, but they help operate WPST, located right here in Princeton. Nassau Broadcasting Partners is also located right here in Princeton; both WPST and Nassau are local companies to our community. Founder, Herbert W. Hobler of Nassau Broadcasting Partners was a graduate of Princeton University. People and community are the main focuses of Nassau. Here's a look at Nassau's mission statement by President Louis F. Mercatani:

"Our current portfolio of stations is characterized by a diversity of format, geographic location, programming, marketing, and promotions tailored to each stations target audiences."

STATION PORTFOLIO
Nassau Broadcasting Portfolio presents a diversity of AM and FM frequencies in order to satisfy their locals and national marketers needs.Their current objective is to make their clients increase their investments by advertising their companies throughout the East Coast.

Number of Nassau Broadcasting Stations in the East Coast
Maine: 11 Stations
Maryland: 3 Stations
Massachusetts: 4 stations
New Hampshire: 10 stations
New Jersey: 2 Stations (WPST)
Pennsylvania: 7 stations
Vermont: 12 stations



Nassau Broadcasting Radio Stations offer different music genres and formats such as classic hits, country hits, classic rock, classical, Hot AC, Inspirational, talk, ESPN Sports, religious, and adult contemporary.

PRESS CENTER
Within the Nassau Broadcasting website they have news releases about all of their events that they participate in with all of the radio stations they own. Some of the press releases include events such as food drives and folk festivals with 106.3, a holiday food drive with 101.5, and an online auction with 99.9. They also have many press releases about their events with 94.5 PST. Some of those events include their annual freedom festival and their annual coats for kids drive. Each press release discusses the time and place of the event and the different activities that people were able to take part in. Their press center is a great form of public relations because it shows their involvement with all of their radio stations.

NASSAU HOLDINGS, INC.
Nassau Broadcasting is owned by Nassau Holdings, INC. Nassau Holdings is a diverse holding company that is located in Princeton, New Jersey. They manage predominately in four different areas: Media and Communications, Real Estate, Marine Services and Food Services. In Media and Communications, Nassau Holdings manages Nassau Broadcasting as well as Nassau Journals, LLC. Louis F. Mercatanti, Jr. is also the owner of Nassau Holdings, INC.


When first opening Nassau Braoadcasting INC.'s official website page, they blatantly advertise their own advertising tools. Their main page says "Advertise With Us," and underneath allows you to choose which region you want to advertise with, each region being linked to a different page you are then directed to to further complete the advertisement process. They encourage your participation and help with advertising in their version of a professional "thank you" letter, addressing that the advertisements posted allow their business to grow and prosper, as well as supply the general public with the radio stations that they love. Their main goal is to keep expanding their business and giving the public what they want, via radio and such, and while they're promoting themselves, they allow the credit to fall on their supporters; they spend the majority of their thanking to the companies and explain that helping Nassau will also greatly benefit the advertisers companies as well.

A statement from their letter:
"Nassau ensures that our Account Managers have available to them all of the state-of-the-art information, research and digital production technology required to develop highly successful marketing and promotional campaigns for our clients."

So, they take into account their technological advantages and strengths, while still encouraging and helping other companies as well. Besides the great deal of advertisement information that essentially keeps the company running, Nassau also runs a slideshow of all of their radio stations that they own on top, displaying all the areas they broadcast to. This is an excellent example of PR at work: they are both promoting themselves, while making other companies feel confident in their services and confident with using Nassau's company to broadcast their companies advertisements. Overall, it is a smart and professional way for them to disperse other companies names out to the multimedia world through social media. Just follow the link!

DJ's at WPST (Week 4) October 23, 2009

The DJ's at any radio station are an important part of the station. At 94.5, the DJ's are very active. They blog, have social media sites and allow listeners to e-mail them through the day. They participate in charities and different live events for WPST. This is all on top of their radio hosting job. In this week's blog we are going to take a closer look at each major DJ at 94.5 WPST and discuss what they do as DJ's to promote themselves and the station, as a part of Public Relations.

As always WPST does their best to keep thier listeners happy, one of the ways they do this is their PST Loyal Listeners Club. To do so, you need to sign up and tune in to WPST at 8:20am, 12:20pm, 4:20pm or 7:20pm and earn points that can lead to great prizes. This is just another way WPST is getting thier fans involved and keeping their intrest with prizes and games. For the avid listener, this is just another reason to listen to the radio and earn free prizes during the week.




THE PST WAKE UP CREW
The PST Wake up Crew consists of Chris Rollins, Tommy Jordan, Newman and Wendy McClure. They broadcast on weekdays from 5:30-10:00 AM. Each DJ has their own blog and participates on WPST's Facebook page. On the crew's website, they allow listeners to play games and enter contests. They also have a section called The Crew Cares where they tell listeners about the latest charity events the station and the Crew are taking apart of.

TONI RYAN
Toni Ryan is one of the main DJ's at WPST. Her radio show airs on weekdays from 10am-3pm. Toni also has a blog that she interacts with her fans and others; this can be found right off of the WPST web site. Fans may contact her through email and she will address them on her blog or over the air. If you take a look at Toni's blog you can also see that both WPST's Facebook and Twitter links are all over the place. So as a DJ with WPST, Toni uses social media to gain coverage for her company.


MATT SNEED
As do most of the DJ's at WPST, Matt also has his own blog and links for pictures. Matt has his own show at 3pm-8pm on the weekdays. Matt Sneed is very involved with the company as he has been with WPST for over 5 years now. He does all he can to give back to the community and participate in events to help better others, which WPST is known for. As you can see on Matt's blog, he looks for input from the fans and wants to know what they think. WPST drives to satisfy their listeners, and this proves it. Go check out Matt's page!


SHINN
Tom Shinn, most commonly known as "Shinn" is the night show DJ for WPST. Along with his hilarious sarcastic blogs about late night snacks, temperature and random comments about people wearing high socks with sandals, he also takes part in a night show from 8pm-12am. This is one of the most listened to sections of the show. He begins his show with the five most requested songs that PST played that day, and follows it with fun conversations with his interns and even discussing a fun video of the day that he posts on the PST website to keep the fun and energetic atmosphere of his show. He holds many contests to allow listeners to win prizes and also takes requests from many to play everyone's favorite songs. Shinn's show positively promotes PST because it shows the most fun side of the station. His show helps reach out to young teens as opposed to other DJs who mostly attract those in the work force, which helps have the variety of listeners that currently listen to PST.

WADE
While WPST is located right here in Princeton, Wade grew up in Trenton. Wade has his own blog just like the rest of the DJ's at WPST, where he loves talking about media and all diffrent things that are going on in todays world. He is every in touch with public relations and that shows on his blog, you can check out his blog by clicking on his name above. Growing up in neighboring town Trenton, Wade does his best to give back to the community and DJ's for sponsoring events around the communtiy.

Tommy Jordan

Tommy Jordan is a DJ who posts on his blog around a regular basis. This shows that each DJ does have a life outside of work and they are very friendly and sociable. Tommy writes various funny events in his blog, and listeners often comment on his stories as being funny, interesting or cool. All in all, Tommy adds yet another personality to the WPST DJ crew, and adds to the friendly atmosphere that they try to portray at the same time.

Competitors (Week 3) October 16, 2009

In today's age of technology WPST has many competitors, including other radio stations such as Z100 and Q102.You also have the internet, satellite radio and apple products, with today’s technology its only a matter of time before radio has another competitor alongside all of these.


Along with Z100 and Q102, WPST competes with all radio stations. Today, most stations stream their music online. Just a quick internet search can give you all stations similar to WPST, there are hundreds. This means, that listeners can listen to any station they choose anywhere around the world. Also, sites such as Limewire and Rhapsody make it easier than ever to listen to music on the internet. These sites would allow a listener to customize which artists and genres they prefer to hear, when they want. Not only does this allow listeners to download music it also allows them to put these songs on IPods and portable MP3 players. Both IPods and portable MP3 players compete with the radio as well.


Some of the other direct competitors that WPST has may have nothing to do with radio stations at all. Instead it is technology fueling today’s music market. IPods, Satellite Radio, and even T.V. music stations are direct competitors of radio stations and WPST as a whole. With the rise in popularity of MP3 players and the increasing number of commercials on public radio, people are switching to other means when looking for music. Satellite radio, which offers superior quality and little to no commercials, is also a direct competitor for people who are looking to receive a variety of music at the highest quality with no interruptions.

Satellite radio allows everybody to listen to their favorite radio station while they are driving miles away from the radio source. A satellite radio user can be listening to an American radio station while they are in Canada. Compared to a traditional radio station satellite radio sounds quality is the same as CD-burned sound quality with complete clarity. The two main companies for satellite radios are XM and Sirius who are now a single company; launched their product at the beginning of the 21st century. Nowadays cars manufacturers are installing radio satellites instead of regular terrestrial radios stations, and also they are available on electronics stores around the country. The availability and installation of the satellite radios in brand new cars is turning radio satellite into one of the biggest terrestrial radio competitors.



With all of these competitors, WPST has to try even harder to manage their communication with their fans and listeners. They can be taken away by any of these competitors at any time. WPST uses exposure through the internet and their radio broadcast to promote their radio and try to get listeners to tune in. Can't we just go back to the day, when the radio was exposure for everything and their was no other way?

Social Media: Facebook

FACEBOOK Presentaion
Bibliography & Scholary Articles
Also,Check out the Short Videos at the bottom of our Summary!



Social Media: Within Facebook

The gap between social networks and jobs is becoming increasingly closer together, and as a result, many people’s social lives outside of work are being directly affected. Over the years as Facebook has grown into a huge social networking site it has helped bridge the gap between people’s personal lives and their lives at work. This new rise in social networks and PR can have both an advantage or a disadvantage to people who use them in the workplace. In a good way, Facebook can allow users to network and exchange contacts and find jobs online with different people easier than other job sites. Since it is a more sociable tool, it is easier to communicate and exchange resumes as well as ask and answer any questions either party may have. The downside to this is that many of the new generations of teenagers are headed into the workforce, and it will become an issue with organizations and people’s privacy. Companies are becoming concerned with people’s lives outside of work and it’s becoming an issue with the interview process as well. As people go in to be interviewed for different jobs, their Facebook pages are being invaded and companies may be persuaded not to hire certain people because of their behavior outside of work. The evolution of Facebook has been a key factor in the rise of social media and PR and has both been beneficial in the work place, yet problematic as well.

Social media have been an enormous influence on public relations since they first began to be popular in 2004. According to A.C. Croft, author of Emergence of "New" Media Moves PR Agencies in New Directions, public relations agencies have made the transition from traditional forms of journalism to new “emerging” media. New media were first seen in blogs. Today, social media can be anything from a social networking site to podcasts.

According to Croft, social media have brought along a new set of public relations practitioners called “citizen journalists.” Everyday people can record, blog, write and videotape anything “newsworthy” to them. People today need their information faster than ever before. Also, according to Croft, press releases are being produced completely different. Press releases are no longer “one-dimensional.” Press releases are now being put out to the public in creative ways, such as logos, PDFs, preapproved executive quotes and creative formatting.

An outstanding example of social media is Facebook. According to Crunchbase, a free database developed by TechCrunch, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004. Zuckerberg, with the help of friends Dustin Moskowitz and Chris Hughes, created an exclusive network for Harvard University students. In 2005, Facebook opened up to all high school students and in 2006 opened to anyone with an email account. Contrary to popular belief, Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is working adults older than thirty. 11% of users are over 35. As of date, Facebook has over 250 Million users, making it the world’s largest social network.

Just like Friendster, MySpace, and now Twitter, Facebook is a social network site that allows individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others, which all revolves around public relations. Facebook is a wonderful site for social networking. People are able to make their own profile, make friends and network with many people. Being friends with one person promotes the opportunity to be friends with all of their friends, so if someone is promoting their own business or social contacts they can do so by making different connections through people on Facebook. This site is also great for advertising. Similarly to social networking and promoting yourself as well as businesses, you can also advertise these same businesses on Facebook. For example, Red Robin, which is a casual dining chain, makes a great attempt to advertise themselves on Facebook. According to an article entitled Red Robin calls in a Facebook favor from 1,500 fans, the restaurant has made their own profile on Facebook to help better promote themselves and improve their PR. First, Red Robin has customers fill out an online survey at the bottom of their receipt from the restaurant. In return, customers have the ability to win cash prizes if they answer questions about their experience. Lastly, Red Robin asks the customer if they would like to recommend this restaurant to someone else; if so, they are invited to recommend Red Robin to their Facebook profile page. Thanks to Empathica, which handles all the surveys for Red Robin, about 20% of the people who were asked to do this have, making this a great opportunity for Red Robin.

“Recommenders have an average of 150 friends, who all get positive impressions of the brand, at least in theory. Red Robin chief marketing officer Susan Lintonsmith estimates that her chain has gotten about 1,500 recommendations since Empathica launched the service in April. That would mean about 225,000 positive impressions during that time. The Red Robin fan page, meanwhile, has about 1,900 fans” (Red Robin calls in a Facebook favor from 1,500 fans).

Aside from social networking and advertising, Facebook also takes part in direct marketing. Direct marketing is an attempt to send messages directly to consumers. When users sign onto their Facebook, on the right-hand side there are advertisements that specifically fit your profile to try and find certain products that you may be interested in. Although this goes right along with social networking and advertising, it is specific advertisements that target different users based on the information they give on their profile. Facebook is beneficial to individuals as well as different jobs and organizations because of the ability to social network, advertise, and market anything you have to offer, which all revolves around public relations.

Companies are finding that using Facebook is a new way to connect with customers. This is a new marketing tool because the social media world is expanding, significantly. According to the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, Facebook also has the fastest-growing membership segment being adults aged 35 to 54, the majority of whom are in the workplace. As you’ve seen, most popular websites and company-based websites have been including the links on top of the page saying “Add us on Facebook” or the “Facebook Connect” with the Facebook “F” logo beside. “Facebook Connect” is a tool that allows websites to add the link to their pages to add social networking features.

Many reputable businesses use Facebook to market themselves. According to NetBanker, TD Canada Trust, the ninth largest bank in North America, just recently launched a Facebook application called Split IT, which helps roommates manage and split basic bills. It’s a visual bill: representing tables separating the roommates, utilities and each of their costs, simple and time saving. It even displays your debt, for example, if you owe one of your friends/roommates money. From Split IT, you are linked to their “Money Lounge,” which contains a plethora of job postings, offers, and all kinds of offers, which attracts their audience. Also, according to CIO Insight, JP Morgan Chase hosts a credit card loyalty club, Chase +1, to attract the college demographic. Chase +1 has about 34,000 and offers rewards and financial advice.

Also, ads on Facebook are an extremely useful way of attracting a broad audience and marketing your website/product/logo. Facebook has three different types of ads: sponsor groups, banner ads and text announcements. While sponsor groups and banner ads are the most popular (but, more expensive), text announcements are the cheapest (as low as $9/day). Sponsored groups are intended to promote a product, brand or idea as well as banner ads, which use brightly colored, sometimes flashy ads to attract people. Text announcements are for college students or smaller companies trying to target a specific audience or market.

In today’s business world an average of 60% of businesses use social media to track their employees, and do background checks on future employees. This can hurt you if you are not careful about what you release onto the internet. When looking for a job, you have to make sure that if you use any social media web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace that they all portray you in a professional manor. Things such as you pictures can give a company an impression of certain things that they may hold against you. Also your information and what you might say on these sites can affect your job processes. Anything that you put on the internet is accessible some way or another, and in most instances someone can get their hands on it one way or another. Social Media affects your entire outlook on yourself; you have to remember that someone is always watching you. You have to watch what you write and never post or write about anything work related that may surface later on. For example, from CNN article "How social media can hurt your career”, former Philadelphia Eagles employee Dan Leone, he was fired for making inappropriate comments about his organization on Facebook. Someone is always watching, you have to make sure you protect your personal image and keep it professional. It is your image that is on the line and your future that you have to look out for, why ruin it over something as small as social media web site.
Facebook brings engagement of Public Relations and its clients. People are no longer watching TV commercials; they are interacting and sharing their necessities. According to Dan Shust, The world is moving to more connectivity, more sharing, and more openness platforms. With all these things happening, social media will continue to grow and expand the Public Relations world and Facebook it’s going to be a huge part of it.




Dan Leone Interview & Interview Tips about Facebook

If you do not have a Facebook and would like to join, Please follow the link provided! FACEBOOK

Demographics and Events (Week 2) October 9, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

For this weekly edition of the Group 4 blog we have looked further into 94.5 PST. We have asked Rider and TCNJ students as well as other local college students whether they listen to the radio station or not. Their responses were fairly similar with the common answer being that the radio station appealed more to younger audiences, as well as some older demographics, mainly older individuals who listen to the radio while at work. Our group has also called the station to try and find out which demographics they try to target, and they said that they have a large range of people that they try to reach out to. The listeners were from all across different age groups and they try to target the most amount of listeners possible, due to the pop music that they play. College students tend not to fall in these categories because there are a range of options for them to get their music. Technology is a huge factor for the changing demographics in radio listeners, and it will continue to change as certain technology improves and becomes more mainstream. Ipods, Limewire, and Satellite radio are major factors for changing demographics. To try and appease Iphone users, they offer applications for users to be able to listen to their station on the go so that they are always connected.

While personally getting in contact with PST, we were given the opportunity to learn how exactly the station keeps their listeners tuning in. Considering their listeners are anywhere from young teens to older adults in the work place, they have to take part in many different events to keep their listeners interested. Although they play a variety of music, including music from the 70's and 80's for the enjoyment of their older listeners, they also take part in broadcast promotional events where they come in personal contact with their fans. Our group was able to learn of some of the examples of specific events that PST takes part in. To target the younger crowd, aside from playing music that is popular to them, they also attend concerts of young teen’s favorite bands. For example, this past summer PST made an appearance at a concert for The Jonas Brothers. Being at this concert was great PR for PST with their younger audience. There were many young teenagers there and because PST was there to enjoy the concert and give out prizes to fans they were positively promoting themselves to their younger audience. To target their older fans, PST takes part in an event that takes place every other Wednesday called the Parking Lot Pig-Out. Workers from any company or organization have the ability to apply for this event on the PST website, and every other Wednesday a different company wins. The Parking Lot Pig-Out is when PST goes to someone's job and cooks lunch for them out in their parking lot. They cook burgers and hotdogs, and everything is cooked by one of their DJs, Tom Shinn. Tony Henry, their promotions director, also attends these pig-outs every other week and plays games with the people working and gives them the opportunity to win other great prizes. As our group was learning of these events, we were invited to attend one. PST invited us to come to any event and see how they take part in PR and promoting themselves positively to their fans. Our group is looking forward to attending an event with PST.

94.5 WPST is a proud sponsor of many organizations and foundations, but this month importantly they are helping raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. 94.5 WPST has even made their sponsorship known by changing their logo colors for the month of October to all pink. WSPT is selling t-shirts for $10 and all of the proceeds are going to this foundation. They are also offering a "PST code" for the Shady Brook Farm's Halloween Horrorfest, which will donate 20% of the ticket price for ever code that is submitted while buying tickets. This is just one organization that WPST 94.5 is known for helping with, within our community.

WPST 94.5 covers different events ever week, almost every day of the week they are out promoting their radio station and giving away free prizes. WPST is at KatManDu weekly, located right here in Trenton, NJ. Almost every day there are events going on, take a look at events near you! These events are all ways that WPST is stepping out into the community and promoting themselves through Public Relations. By, helping out these good causes not only are they helping people that need it, they are also promoting their radio station at the same time!

Help Support Breast Cancer in a FUN way!!

Introduction to 94.5 PST (Week 1) October 2, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Over the duration of the next two months, our group will study the radio station 94.5 WPST "Number 1 for variety".

As a group we decided to cover 94.5 WPST because radio is one of the biggest types of Media today. Everyone enjoys music, and WPST offers a wide variety of all types of music for everyone to listen to. Not only does WPST cover all genres of music, but they also cover the weather, news, gossip, and traffic warnings. WSPT relays all information and music that the public is interested in and wants to hear. They interact with their fans with games over the air and they encourage listeners to chime in (609) 248-WPST. WPST is actively involved within the community and sponsors countless organizations. WPST is local to us, as they are based out of Princeton, New Jersey. Their target audience’s include Philadelphia and New Jersey.

While WPST targets audiences throughout the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas, they also target a variety of different age groups. WPST is known for their variety and because of this, we have learned as a group that many people listen to this station while they are at work which targets an older crowd. However, we have also learned that there is a much younger crowd that listens to this station. Because WPST plays a variety of hit music, they tend to play songs by The Jonas Brothers and other groups that attract a much younger crowd. As a group, we are going to follow the songs that this station plays and we are going to pay close attention to how WPST manages to keep such a variety of age groups tuning into them every day. Aside from paying close attention to the music, we are also going to follow the different events that WPST does every week. We want to see how each event attracts different age groups to keep their variety of listeners.

We are going to cover all aspects of the station. Our group plans on following WPST through Twitter, Facebook and Myspace,which are ways the station uses to reach the public when they are not on the air. If you take a look on WPST's home page they actually have a live feed for thier Twitter account, for those of you that do not have an account and would like to follow them. We will look at the station's competitors and see what the competitors are trying to do to one step WPST. We will also track and analyze WSPT's steps to out-do their competitors. This not only includes music on the radio, but their live events, contests, concerts, and listener interaction. WPST has live bands and singers in their studio weekly; you can access live views of these discussions and concerts right on their web page. We plan on learning the history of the station and how it has evolved to be the station they have become today.

As a group we plan on visiting the radio station and looking into their Public Relations practices. We may attend local events and may even place calls into the radio station on the air. As a group we would like to explore all aspects of WPST's Public Relations and how they are reaching out into the community, along with their event planning and much more.

Feel free to listen live to their radio station on 94.5 or access their web page for live looks at concerts and other interviews.

All Info For: Evolution of PR

Evolution of Public Relations: Good & Bad PR (Britney Spears)
According to Ferguson Career Guidance Center, musical field public relations counselors’ main function is to create a positive image their artist. Creating a good image is essential for the artist career, and taking them to new levels of fame. The public relations counselor first task is to evaluate people first impressions about the artist. If the artist receives negative feedback; his or her public relations counselor is in charge of changing the public perception by rebuilding the client image. An artist always wants to be looked at in a positive way, that’s why they hire public relations counselors. In order to accomplish this, the public relations counselor must outline a campaign for his or her client, and this might vary according to the demand of rebuilding the client image. The public relations counselor must know how to write press releases, organize press conferences, compile press information, and plan parties. They must also be familiar with the media, having a big list of media contacts to call upon is essential to being the best.

Counselors must be used to work under great pressure; there are always constantly deadlines to meet, events to attend, and things to do. All counselors must be willing to work behind the scenes without expecting public recognition. Their jobs are aimed at the celebrities they are working for not for themselves, very few public relations counselors receive the credit they desire for their everyday affairs with their clients. How you portray your client is what is looked at all around the world, and it is up to the public relations counselor to make sure that image is a great one.

As we all have seen over the past couple of years, Britney Spears has been all over the tabloids. She has impacted Public Relations both in a positive ways and negative ways as well. When her name comes to mind negative thoughts run through people’s heads, this is because of the way that she portrays herself. Shaving her entire head, out of know where, does not bring a positive image to mind. The way situations are handles and dealt with draw the line between good Public Relations and bad Public Relations. On the negative side Spears brought the negative attention to herself by shaving her own head in a hair salon. This leads the public to make assumptions to what she was thinking, and the months of controversial behavior before this incident do not help her image. Some said that this was her giving a sign that she was in need of some help. That is a hell of a way to ask for help and support! Not only did this draw everyone’s attention to her, but it also made some wonder why she would do such a thing. Was it to cover up any drug use that was going on, that could have been tested through hair samples? When issues are not addressed properly it leads to assumptions being made, which leads to bad Public Relations. She should have addressed these issues behind closed doors to avoid the image that she has painted for herself.

The press behind Britney would continue to get worse as her downward spiral to a deranged pop diva continued. Britney Spears was locked in a psych ward as word spread to tabloids, after a meltdown that ended when she was strapped to a gurney and rushed to a hospital. Britney Spears was considered a "special needs" patient and was held at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for at least 72 hours in a wing where suicidal patients are treated, sources would go on to report. Apparently, Spears had initiated a confrontation with the cops when she refused to return her sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline. Late in 2007, Spears had lost all visitation rights to her sons Sean, and Jayden, after a number of events had ruined her image further. There was no proven fact that Spears had threatened to kill herself, but reports had stated that Brittany was becoming increasingly suicidal after the set of events that took place the year before. These are all great examples of things that the media thrives on, you do not want to be portrayed to the entire world like this. Better Public Relations needs to be here, if things go wrong the Public Relations counselor needs to be there to help coach their client through these tough times to clear their image of any tarnishes.Another example of bad Public Relations was the custody battle for Spears and Federline’s children. Spears lost custody of her two children after driving with her sons in CA without a valid driver’s license, and for failing to submit a drug test. This leaves another negative image on the celebrity. This is exactly the point that we are trying to make, that if handled correctly this negative image would not have been so out of control. The unraveling of Spears’s image all started after the marriage of her and ex Kevin Federline. "Britney knows that she needs help and is already going through counseling, she knows what needs to be done and is slowly re-building herself step by step." These are the statements that reflect her. Issues need to be addressed otherwise they will all build up against you. You have to take responsibility of your actions, not try and cover them up. Public Relations is all about how you portray yourself to the media or an audience. During this time period Britney Spears did a very poor job portraying herself to the media, and the media thrived off of it, tarnishing her image.

The young star has not always been this way. Starting from a child in the Mickey Mouse club, the star was a sensation. Makin millions of dollars from a young age, never mind the millions of fans she picked up along the way. She was a growing attraction and idol for all young people. Up until a few years ago she was on top of the industry, making millions and having thousands of loyal fans to follow her. As she grew older she became more daring and transformed into the teen everyone wanted to be. Britney broke out of her shell, and started to do as she pleased. After making a few decisions that have tarnished her image and lost millions of fans Britney is on her way back. She is making a full recovery from the bipolar disorder and receiving treatment. Britney has settled with Kevin Federline about her custody issues, and is back in her children’s life. Although she shares custody with former husband Kevin Federline, she sees her children as much as possible and is trying to set a good example for them. She is turning around to the best of her ability, and the fans that she still has are following her more than ever. From what we have seen through the press and PR Britney is doing the best to clear her name and turn her life around. Will have to wait to see what happens with the future and see how the star handles her business this time around.

Britney Spears Power Point Presentaion

Bibliography




All of Our Information:

Good and Bad PR for Celebrities

Topic: Good and Bad PR for Celebrities Velma: Intro (introducing members) and Why good PR is important for celebrities Ashley: Britney Spears (how she has had good and bad PR), personal experience (first concert) Rae & Heather: Good PR (how she came out, "innocent school girl," relationship with JT, etc) Bobby & Antonio: Bad PR (bipolar, losing kids, shaving head, psych ward, etc) Presentation: -Intro -General PR (both good and bad), personal experience -Good (how she started, innocent persona, JT, etc) -Bad (bipolar, lost kids, shaved head, etc) -Good (trying to regain her image, new concerts, new sense of self, trying to come back) -Closing

Vilma - (Intro) Why PR is good for celebrities
Public Relations in the Field of Music

According to Ferguson CareerGuidance Center,musicalfield public relations counselors’ main function is to create a positive imageof his or her artist. Creating a goodimage is essential for the artist career. The public relations counselor first task is to evaluate people firstimpressions about the artist. If the artist receives negative feedback ; his orher public relations counselor is in charge of changing the public perception byrebuilding the client image. In order to accomplish this, the public relationscounselor must outline a campaign for his or her client, and this might varyaccording to the demand of rebuilding the client image. The P.R counselor must know how to writepress releases, organize press conferences, compile press information, and planparties. P.R counselor must be familiar with the media by having a big list ofmedia contacts to call upon and use when they need the press to be present fortheir clients.

Counselors must be used to work under great pressure; there are always constantly deadlines to meet, events to attend, and things to do. All counselors must be willing to work behind the scenes without expecting public recognition.

Salary
A public relations counselor can earn from $23,000 to $175,000, and in addition he or she can also earn 10% or 15% of his or her client income.

Advancement Prospects
A P.R counselor working in the musical field will always get more responsibility and more challenging clients.

P.R Counselor Skills and Personality Traits
P.R counselor must have excellent writing skills, and also he or she has to be creative in order to come up with great ideas for his clients a publicity. He or she must be musical industry savvy to create effectiveness in the campaigns.

http://www.fofweb.com/Careers/default.asp?ItemID=WE34
Ashleigh - Britney Spears – Throughout Her Entire Career

Starting out by making her first TV appearance in 1992 on Star Search, Britney moved on and became well known when she became a member of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 and 1994 along with other stars such as Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. To follow, Britney signed a recording contract with Jive in 1997 and instantly became a hit. I, among many other young girls became immediate fans of Britney’s music. At that time I was only nine years old and being that I was an aspiring singer myself and performed in everything from local community shows to off-broadway shows in New York City, I was hooked. Britney Spears was an inspiration to all young girls and became an instant pop icon. Britney began her successful career with her first hit album …Baby One More Time and followed with Oops!... I did it Again. Britney used PR by promoting her CDs, selling merchandise, and touring to get more and more people to fall in love with her music.

Then around 2006 and 2007 everything changed for Britney and her life fell apart. After giving birth to her second son, filing for divorce from her husband, and shortly after her aunt died of cancer; Britney went to a drug rehabilitation center and tried to get her life back on track. Eventually, as many witnessed, Britney then shaved her head and began getting a lot of negative attention from the media. All of the good PR that she had when she first began her singing career was ruined by her actions. Britney then was not granted full custody of her two children after her divorce and was forced to undergo random drug and alcohol tests until she got her act straight. She was also forced to undergo psychiatric treatment and was involved in incidents where she attacked the paparazzi with an umbrella and was also involved in a hit and run accident. Soon her father was given control of all of Britney’s assets. Basically, after having great PR in the beginning of her career everything failed. Her life completely changed and Britney only displayed bad PR, losing many of her fans. I mentioned that I was a huge fan of Britney Spears. She was the first person I ever went to see in concert and after she began to seemingly go crazy, I was no longer a fan.

Then, Britney made her comeback! In 2008 Britney began to attempt to have good PR by guest-starring in CBS’s television show How I Met Your Mother, and then opened the MTV Video Music Awards for the third time. Then on September 15th Jive announced that she would be coming out with her sixth studio album, Circus. She came out with hits such as Womanizer, Circus, and If You Seek Amy. She then went on tour and even declared her support for same-sex marriages to help positively promote herself.

Now, Britney is back and is better than ever. Because of all her recent positive actions, she has gotten most of her fans back, including me. According to an article entitled, “Britney Spears’ Fans Remain Loyal,” one of her fans still believes, just like I now do, that Britney continues to be a pop icon. “I think she’s better. She has just reinvented herself. Despite the troubles in her life, she came back out on top, has gotten her life straight, gotten her kids straight and now she’s gotten music straight,” said Amy Lawhead, a Britney Spears fan. “I think she’s definitely come out better in the end.”

Heather: Britney – beginning (Good PR)
Britney Spears started her career at a very young age. Having already performed on the well-known “American Idol” of the 1990s, Star Search, Spears searched for something more. After auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club at 8, she was denied because of her young age; however, when she re-auditioned at 11, she was accepted and unfortunately only participated until age 13 (the second season of the Mickey Mouse Club) because of the cancellation of the show. The show introduced her to many soon-to-be stars, and future boyfriend as she would soon realize: Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez (of Nsync), Christina Aguilera and Keri Russell (“Felicity”).

After the Mickey Mouse Club, Spears’ vied for something higher, more media-related: singing. She traveled to New York City and started to audition for pop bands and record demo tapes, which eventually led her to her deal with Jive Records. Jive Records, along with song-writer and producer, Max Martin, produced the essential beginning to Spears’ career with her pop phenomenon hit, “…Baby One More Time.” Besides being the start to her career, the music video to “…Baby One More Time” began her reputation as a teenage sex symbol, with her skimpy Catholic schoolgirl outfit, which appealed to both her female and male fans. According to Spears’, the alteration of the outfit was all her idea: "It was my idea because at first we were wearing boring Catholic outfits and I didn't want it to be boring and cheesy. I mean we were dancing and I wanted it to be edgier." Because of this “edgier” side, Spears’ gained the image of the “irresistible, sexy girl-next-door.”
(Source: http://www.getback.com/musician/bio/britney-spears/313336)

In 1999, when her album debuted, “…Baby One More Time,” it shot straight up to No.1 on the Billboard Charts. It remained as No.1 for months and simultaneously reached gold, platinum and double-platinum. At this point, Spears’ was viewed as the next Madonna. “I want to conquer the world,” Spears’ said in a CNN interview at 17, when she first began her turbulent journey on the road to fame.

Soon after her boom to fame, Spears’ was drawn into the PR world. She shot a campaign for Tommy Hilfiger, signed a developed deal with TriStar TV to star in three episodes of “Dawson’s Creek,” and appeared in countless famous magazines such as “Newsweek,” “Entertainment Weekly” and “Rolling Stone.” At this point, Spears’ viewed herself as a role model; she said: “It's inevitable because I'm out there so much. You have to watch what you do ... because you want what you do to be really wonderful."
(Source: http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9903/24/britney.spears/)

From then on, Spears’ became a mogul, and in some cases a product of a PR machine. In 2000, she signed a three-year licensing agreement with Famous Fixins to manufacture the “Britney Spears CD Bubble Gum,” which was supposed to be a novelty item in conjunction with her upcoming tour at the time. Part of the proceeds from her bubblegum would go to her charity of choice, which was The Giving Back Fund. Famous Fixins had worked with several other famous celebrities, such as Sammy Sosa and Derek Jeter to offer a promotional product that would help benefit the person’s charity.

In 2002, she was coined No.1 on Forbes “Celebrity 100” list, which combines earnings and media exposure to calculate the entertainer’s status. Spears stole the light from Tom Cruise, who had been No.1 previous year. However, although Spears’ didn’t financially prevail over other stars, what she lacked in income, she made up with magazine covers, TV and Radio appearances, web hits and overall media coverage.

(Source: http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=11828)
(Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434389/20000225/spears_britney.jhtml)

To continue Britney’s “sex symbol” persona, her music videos became more risqué. From her second album, “Oops! … I Did it Again,” singles “Oops! I Did it Again,” “Lucky” and “Stronger” showcased her sexuality in the tight red jumpsuits, belly shirts and short skirts. With every video from then on, Spears’ line was drawn even further, where no limits were given and sexy was an understatement.

Incorporate link with PR events: (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434383/20000420/spears_britney.jhtml)

Aside from being a part of the same show, “The Mickey Mouse Club,” Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake formed a more than friendly relationship. Dating back to their days as young dreamers, their relationship started to grow. Justin and Britney, both on-the-rise stars, became a hot commodity in the late 90s. Said to have been a couple for around ten years, Britney and Justin experienced many things together. They were viewed as the “it” couple of the time and were the focus of all media exposure. From magazine covers to interviews, the couple became an instant obsession. Not only did fans adore their innocent love affair, but the media thrived on a couple “who had so much power and influence.” After their sudden and unexpected break-up in 2002, Britney had to deal with a large amount of bad publicity. As she always told interviewers and media sources, Spears’ was set on saving her virginity until she was married; however, Justin admitted in an interview that they had slept together during their relationship. This began Spears’ journey into bad publicity and seemingly countless events of disappointment following. She wasn’t viewed as the innocent schoolgirl anymore, but had a whole new persona attached to her.
(Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Justin-and-britney)

Rae - Britney: Good PR (today)
For many years now, Britney Spears has been known as “crazy, out of touch with reality, and unstable.” She went through many years of trouble including: divorce, custody battles, and hospitalization. Today Britney Spears is shown in a different light and is once again one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

Britney’s comeback began in January of 2008 when her father, James Spears, obtained the legal right to control all of her assets and money. He was also in charge of her career and personal life. James is even considering giving up this right in November after Britney is finished her current tour. Many have said that James “saved Britney’s life.”

Sources:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Britney-Spears-Conservatorship-to-Come-to-an-End-117270.shtml
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-02-04-spears_N.htm

After the conservatorship began, Britney Spears has been trying to put herself in positive aspects of the media. The first thing she did was give to many charities. Britney donated to UNICEF and Idol Gives Back. She even visited a middle school in the Bronx to donate to the school’s music program. This allowed for the public to see that Britney was no longer in an unstable straight of mind. She was able to donate her money to those who need rather than spend it on the previous things she was buying, such as her extravagant shopping sprees.

Sources:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1574175/20071113/lohan_lindsay.jhtml
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/04/10/britney-spears-idol-gives-back/
http://blogs.tampabay.com/juice/2008/10/britney-spears.html

Britney’s people also decided that they wanted to show Britney as a well-fit mother. Britney previously went through a nasty divorce and custody battle. She even lost custody of her two children for a period of time. Britney had to prove that she was in fact a good and deserving mother. She has promoted her mother skills to OK! Magazine and was quoted as saying, “I would die for my boys if that’s what it took to prove I loved them. I’d do anything for them.” Britney has been photographed with her children at parks, broadway shows, and hotels. Today, Britney has 50/50 split with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. She also has an extended agreement and is allowed to have her boys for majority of the summer while on tour. The promotion of Britney being a stable mother shows her fans that she is no longer selfish and thinks of her children first.

Sources:
http://www.theinsider.com/news/572880_Britney_Spears_Kids_Exposed_on_OK_Magazine
http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/06/no-more-kid-split-for-brit-in-summer-14902/

Since Britney’s personal life was beginning to get back on track, it was time for her professional life to follow. Britney began to record her sixth studio album in 2008. The album, Circus, was promoted by a hotline where fans could leave messages for Britney and some even had a returned call by the pop star. Britney did many live performances including Madonna’s “Sticky Sweet” Tour. Britney also promoted the album by a 60 minute documentary called “Britney: For the Record.” The documentary addressed her public meltdown and her comeback. The producers made Britney out to look sad and lonely as if she was trapped in her own little world. This documentary, released two days before her album debut, showed Britney in a completely different light. It showed her as a real person and a mother, not just as a broken old pop star. The documentary added a lot of excitement for Circus the album. The album later inspired a huge concert tour known as the same name. Billboard Magazine nominated the tour for “The Best Concert of the Year”. It has sold out in many countries.


Sources:
http://rosymediastudies.blogspot.com/2009/03/britney-spears-album-promotion-circus.html
http://www.piercemattiepublicrelations.com/2008/12/celebrity_pr_britney_spears_pr.html
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/06-10-2009/0005041553&EDATE=
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/20/britney-spears-back-in-the-studio-says-producer/
http://www.britneyspears.com

Britney seems to be on top of her game today. Almost like when she first broke into the scene in 1999. Without help from her PR team, publicist, and crew Britney would not be where she is today. Her career and personal life took such a hard hit by her unstable actions, Britney’s team had to be excellent to get her to where she is now.

Bad PR – Bobby & Antonio
Losing Kids:“Pop princess Britney Spears lost custody of her children because she did not submit to a drug test or have a valid California driver's license, as demanded by a judge, her lawyer said Tuesday.Monday a judge ruled after a closed-door hearing to hand custody to her ex-husband, aspiring rapper Kevin Federline.”
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hs-VxNXE1r_y01wki0CoXOjzvj5g

During Monday's custody hearing, Spears' former bodyguard accused the pop star of having "issues of nudity and drug use" since she returned from rehab, and reports of a planned "hit" on Federline emerged.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297107,00.html

Spears, 25, was ordered last month to submit to drug tests after a judge found she engaged in "habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol." From her days of teen superstardom to recent media attention over reports of erratic behavior, Spears has traveled a turbulent road.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/10/02/spears.feedback/

Britney Spears' extended mental vacation that culminated in losing custody of and visitation with her two children cost her at least $716,000 in lawyers' fees, court documents obtained by the Associated Press show.Spears, who recently settled the dispute with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, agreed to pay $250,000 to his attorneys, and the new documents show she owes more than $406,000 to another attorney, and $60,000 to yet another. Spears' father, Jamie, who is still the conservator of her estate, has said he plans to contest some of the bills.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2008/08/spears_6.html

As what everyone expected the pop-tart loses her custody finally.She was photographed by a billion paparazzi breaking the law and driving without a valid California driver license with her kids in the car, so K-Fed's attorney went to court today, gain, and asked for his kids, again. And this time he got them. Fast Facts 1. Spears and Federline married on September 18, 2004 2. Divorced in July 2007 3. Sean Preston born on September 14, 2005 4. Jayden James born on September 12, 2006 5. Spears hospitalized twice in January of 2008 for mental evaluation and treatmentPeople: Britney Spears Hospitalized Again for Evaluation (January 31, 2008) 6. Spears granted supervised visit on February 23, 2008People: Britney Spears Visits with Her Boys (February 23, 2008) 7. Spears awarded overnight visitation on June 24, 2008TMZ: Britney Can Tuck the Kids in at Night! (June 24, 2008) 8. Custody settlement reached at 8: 00 p.m. on July 18, 2008OK! Magazine: Britney Ends Fight to Win Back Custody (July 18, 2008)

http://www.mahalo.com/britney-spears-custody-battle

Shaving her Head:The latest buzz on Britney Spears has a lot of people shaking their heads. It wasn't long ago that few thought or cared about what went on inside the mind of the pretty, perky pop star. Now, after she shaved her head in a bizarre episode that culminates a months-long saga of controversial behavior, it's the question being asked by her fans, her foes and the general public: What was she thinking? While psychologists and those around Spears speculate about the cause of her downward spiral, two things seems clear: The one-time pop princess is acting out and in dire need of help. The strands of hair Spears left on the salon floor were posted on e-Bay. There are reports the bidding reached $1 million before the auction was removed from the Web site, because the hair could not be authenticated.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Health/story?id=2885048&page=1

Rumor has it that Britney Spears may have shaved off all her hair last weekend to avoid having it drug tested during her child custody battle with Kevin Federline. How much can you learn by testing someone's hair?Alot. A bundle of hair about the thickness of a pencil can tell chemists what specific drugs someone has used and provide a rough timeline of when she used them. Narcotics like cocaine, meth, ecstasy, and PCP introduce toxins to the bloodstream that are then incorporated into each hair as it forms in the follicle. Urine and blood only retain evidence of these toxins for a week or so, but hair can hold on to them indefinitely.
http://www.slate.com/id/2160383/

BRITNEY SPEARS shaved her own head to spite her mother and management, a new book has revealed."What few people knew was that Britney was rowing with her mum, LYNNE, who seemed to be incessantly reminding her of her motherly duties and responsibilities.The head-shaving moment was the culmination of an escalating rebellion, heightened by heartbreak over her divorce and custody battle, that can be traced back to 2004 when Britney decided she no longer wished to conform, be controlled or take instruction.
"http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2462467/

The-reason-why-Britney-Spears-shaved-her-head.html"Britney has been through a tragic thing that hopefully will never happen again, shaving her hair was a sort of therapeutic thing for her."Larry also goes on to speak about Britney seeking help "Britney knows that she needs help and is already going through counselling, she knows what needs to be done and is slowly re-building herself step by step."
http://www.hollyscoop.com/britney-spears/britney-shaved-her-head_9729.aspx

As we all have seen over the past couple of years, Britney Spears has been all over the tabloids. She has impacted Public Relations both in a positive ways and negative ways as well. When her name comes to mind negative thoughts run through people’s heads, this is because of the way that she portrays herself. Shaving her entire head, out of know where, does not bring a positive image to mind. The way situations are handles and dealt with draw the line between good PR and ad PR. On the negative side Spears brought the negative attention to herself by shaving her own head in a hair salon. This leads the public to make assumptions to what she was thinking, and the months of controversial behavior before this incident do not help her image. Some said that this was her giving a sign that she was in need of some help. That is a hell of a way to ask for help and support! Not only did this draw everyone’s attention to her, but it also made some wonder why she would do such a thing. Was it to cover up any drug use that was going on, that could have been tested through hair samples? When issues are not addressed properly it leads to assumptions being made, which leads to bad Public Relations. She should have addressed these issues behind closed doors to avoid the image that she has painted for herself. Another example of bad Public Relations was the custody battle for Spears and Federline’s children. Spears lost custody of her two children after driving with her sons in CA without a valid driver’s license, and for failing to submit a drug test. This leaves another negative image on the celebrity. This is exactly the point that we are trying to make, that if handled correctly this negative image would not have been so out of control. The unraveling of Spears’s image all started after the marriage of her and ex Kevin Federline. "Britney knows that she needs help and is already going through counseling, she knows what needs to be done and is slowly re-building herself step by step." These are the statements that reflect her. Issues need to be addressed otherwise they will all build up against you. You have to take responsibility of your actions, not try and cover them up. Public Relations is all about how you portray yourself to the media or an audience. During this time period Britney Spears did a very poor job portraying herself to the media, and the media thrived off of it, tarnishing her image.
Press is a fairly funny thing, since its powerful enough to take a person from the top of the popularity threshold and throw someone back down to the bottom in a short matter of time. Albums, music videos, clothing, perfume, and a fairly successful line of clothing was not enough to keep musical darling Brittany Spears from falling from atop her throne as pop princess. Her bad press has even changed her fans from following her musical career, instead opting to follow more of her personal life. When her last album released, Mrs. Spears even sang about her PR antics in her songs, with various lyrics showcasing her as the talk of the PR town. A few press releases also stated her as sinking almost as low as Michael Jackson’s freak-show status. Links:
http://music.aol.ca/article/britney-spears-bad-media-karma/215/Here is my google docs slide to show. If anyone else wants to post some slides or links to slides that would be great as well. This slide is also a rough draft of one of my slides and is not a finished product by any means but I do intend it to look somewhat like that. http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AfBDIXn307XTZGhmNWhqa3dfMWNuamZyemc2&hl=en

The press behind Brittany would continue to get worse as her downward spiral to a deranged pop diva continued. Britney Spears was locked in a psych ward as word spread to tabloids, after a meltdown that ended when she was strapped to a gurney and rushed to a hospital. Brittany Spears was considered a "special needs" patient and was held at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for at least 72 hours in a wing where suicidal patients are treated, sources would go on to report. Apparently, Spears had initiated a confrontation with the cops when she refused to return her sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline. Late in 2007, Spears had lost all visitation rights to her sons Sean, and Jayden, after a number of events had ruined her image further. There was no proven fact that Spears had threatened to kill herself, but reports had stated that Brittany was becoming increasingly suicidal after the set of events that took place the year before.
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/01/05/2008-01-05_britney_spears_dragged_to_psych_ward-4.html#ixzz0Rz4vaU1M
Another bit of news that continued to keep Britney Spears in the bad press section was the new confession that the pop star had been battling an eating disorder since age 16. According to various reports, the 25-year-old singer confessed- after not only being treated for alcohol and drug abuse - that she eats a ton of junk food and then she makes herself vomit to avoid putting on the extra weight. Although she stated that the habit stopped during her two pregnancies, it worsened after her two children were born, as she made an effort to lose the extra baby weight that she had put on. "Doctors are alarmed at the physical state she is in," said the inside source. "They confronted her about her desperately unhealthy lifestyle and the truth came pouring out."Britney said she managed to stop the awful habit during her two pregnancies, however, as soon as Sean Preston and Jayden Jameswere born, she began the unhealthy cycle again in an effort to lose her added baby weight."On top of her alcohol and alleged cocaine use, the bulimia turned her into a "human train wreck," according to the source, who added:"When she came here she was shaking and baking. Her whole body was wracked by spasms and she was hot one minute, freezing cold the next. Her first week in detox was hell. She was a total mess but slowly she's pulling through."
(http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2007/03/britney-spears-her-nine-year-bulimia-battle/) Questions even began to swirl around that Britney was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, which is a serious mental disorder characterized by mood swings between extreme depression and high energy. Soon after these rumors spilled out, news media reported that the well known Dr. Phil met with Britney and her family members to talk about her "issues". Many people believed this "help" from Dr. Phil was only a plea to have her appear on his talk show and try to gain more media attention to boost ratings and to put Britney even further on the spot. So what's left for Britney as of now? After losing the custody battle with her ex-husbad, the media circus that continues to follow her around L.A., and her growing feelings of disparity, Britney is certainly drowning in her bad PR hole. However, after a bit of time, Britney is slowly making a comeback, and she is beginning to receive good press once again.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/01/05/britney-spears-may-have-bipolar-disorder/